Chapter 1 Litian City Under the Rain

Litian City was under a drizzle.

The peddlers on the streets had been keeping their voices down these past few days, not daring to shout their sales pitches too loudly. In the teahouses, storytellers no longer tantalized their audience with cliffhangers.

Even the Red Tent brothels, usually bustling with customers, had quieted down. The madams, who normally cursed and scolded without a care, didn't even dare to step outside.

It was still the same city, and the people were still the same, but everything and everyone had become cautious.

Squads of armored soldiers, their left arms bound with white cloth, patrolled the city in a menacing manner. Many had bloodshot eyes, staring at passersby as if they wanted to kill them on the spot.

They were elites who had seen battle, veterans of countless bloody campaigns. When their anger rose, they exuded a palpable murderous aura that made people afraid to look them in the eye.

Litian City, once the old nest of the Wenren family, was practically the capital of a small kingdom. Its residents were not country bumpkins; they had seen the world. But that was exactly why they felt a chill in their hearts. It was the middle of summer, but they felt a constant shiver down their spines.

………

Inside an inn, a waiter had just delivered a meal when a burly man, wearing only a black vest, stopped him at the door. The man took the food and tossed a piece of silver to the waiter.

Normally, the waiter would have shouted:

"Thank you for the generous tip, sir!"

He would loudly announce the amount, and the staff at the counter and other waiters would echo the thanks, giving the generous patron face.

But this time, the waiter only bowed to the man with a flattering smile, not daring to shout.

In these times, any sign of celebration or noise was inappropriate.

The man didn't mind. He carried the food and opened the door to the room.

Inside, at a small table, sat two men.

One was wearing a blue robe, looked to be in his early thirties, and had a very delicate face and a high-pitched voice.

The other was dressed as a scholar, over fifty years old, stroking his goatee. His face was old, but his eyes were sharp and intelligent.

The burly man placed the food on the table, bowed, and silently left, closing the door behind him and resuming his post in the hallway.

Inside the room,

Li Yinglian picked up the wine pot, first pouring a drink for the old man across from him, then for himself. After setting down the pot, Li Yinglian sighed.

He said:

"This humble one has truly had rotten luck. After so many years, this is the first time I've been sent out of the capital on a mission, and who knew I'd run into something like this? Oh dear, how am I supposed to explain this to His Highness the Crown Prince?"

The old man smiled slightly, didn't drink, but instead grabbed a handful of fried peanuts, tossed a few into his mouth, and chewed as he said:

"Why does gonggong (eunuch) fret so much? With such a big event, how could it possibly be related to you in any way?"

Li Yinglian pointed a finger at the old man.

He said:

"You, you just don't understand the mindset of those in charge. Servants like me, on the outside, we seem glorious, thanks to the favor of our masters, but in the end, it all depends on whether the master likes you and is willing to use you.

If one day the master no longer needs you, even the newly arrived little eunuchs and maids will dare to look down on you!"

"Hmm?" The old man clearly didn't understand.

"It's just bad luck, you see. His Highness the Crown Prince sends me out on a mission, and I run into this. Next time, even just to be auspicious, I bet he won't dare to use me again, oh dear."

Li Yinglian continued to lament his misfortune.

"Heh." The old man finally understood and could only sigh inwardly at how difficult life was in the palace, and how eunuchs were born to act.

The old man immediately said:

"Gonggong, while that may be true, how do you know whether His Highness will feel sadness or joy upon hearing this news?

Therefore, how do you know if His Highness will see you as unlucky or as a bringer of good fortune?"

Li Yinglian had just picked up his wine cup when he heard this. His wrist trembled, spilling wine everywhere. He glared at the old man and scolded:

"How dare you!"

The old man continued to "hehe" while eating peanuts, not caring in the slightest.

"You old codger, do you know where you are? Do you know that the Jingnan Marquis returned to the city last night? The Jingnan army soldiers outside are all over the streets, their eyes bloodshot and frightening!"

The old man remained calm.

"They're all just dogs under the master's feet. Is it so hard for us to close the door and have a private conversation?

Could it be that you, Li Yinglian, have become so precious since you followed the master into the Eastern Palace, thinking you're better than Wei Zhonghe and can't stand to look at this old brother who used to lick the same dog bowl with you?"

"Old Wen, you've been in the martial world for too long and have become too undisciplined. I don't blame you."

"I also want to live a peaceful life, I also want to buy a small courtyard in Yanjing City and have three or two maids serve me in my old age, but can I?

If I, Wen Yin, dare to tell the master that I'm old and don't want to work anymore, do you believe that the next day my few pounds of flesh would be floating in the stinking ditch outside Yanjing City?"

Li Yinglian lowered his eyelids and said:

"Alright, say what you want. This humble one doesn't get many chances to come out, so I really want to hear your opinion, so I can have something to tell His Highness when I return."

"That's right, you, stop being so noisy. You, Li Yinglian, when you killed your adoptive father to get to the top, you weren't so timid."

"Off topic."

"Not off topic, let's start with your current situation. What is the relationship between our master and the Jingnan Marquis?"

"Uncle and nephew."

"That's right, that's what everyone else sees. They say that the Jingnan Marquis is a big backer for our Crown Prince, and that our master can only sit firmly in his position as Crown Prince with the Jingnan Marquis around.

But outsiders can't see through it. You and I, can we not be clear about it in our hearts?

Does the Jingnan Marquis have any affection for our master?

No.

That Jingnan Marquis, it can even be said, does he have any affection at all?"

Li Yinglian remained silent.

"On the night of the Tian family's extermination, the Empress returned home after visiting her family. The Jingnan Marquis dared to slaughter his entire family in front of the Empress. The Empress has been ill ever since she returned to the palace, and there are even rumors that she has developed hysteria.

Our master, aside from anything else, one thing we all acknowledge is his filial piety. The relationship between our master and the Empress is genuine.

Tell me, after this incident, will our master have any affection left for his uncle, aside from what is needed to inherit the throne in the future?

Hehe, and to say a thousand or ten thousand, that old man Tian was also our master's maternal grandfather. The Jingnan Marquis is a man who can ruthlessly slaughter even his own parents. Only His Majesty the Emperor dares to use him. When our master ascends the throne, hehe."

Li Yinglian slowly closed his eyes.

"Alright, I know you've been in the palace for a long time, and there are many rules. You don't feel comfortable hearing these words, so let's not talk about that.

Let's talk about the Jingnan Marquis's wife. You've been in Litian City for a while now, have you ever seen the Jingnan Marquis's wife?"

Li Yinglian opened his eyes and shook his head. "The Jingnan Marquis's wife lives deep within the Marquis's mansion, heavily guarded. And the Jingnan Marquis left an order before his expedition that the Marquis's mansion would not receive guests until he returned.

Don't even mention that I'm here on the orders of the Crown Prince, even if Wei Zhonghe came with an imperial decree, he wouldn't be able to enter the Marquis's mansion, do you believe it?"

"I believe it, I believe it. That Jingnan Marquis really has the qualifications to not give face to anyone."

"Therefore, since I entered the city, I've been staying at the post station outside the city. I haven't seen the Marquis's wife. I originally wanted to wait, and after she gave birth, I would send the gift list on behalf of the Crown Prince and get a receipt to take back, so I could at least have something to report.

After all, no one knows how long the Jingnan Marquis will be gone on this expedition. I couldn't just wait blindly, who would have thought, something like this would happen."

"Do you know where the incident happened?"

"On the Tianhu Mountain road. The people of Litian City are all talking about it. They say the commotion that day was quite big."

"You can't believe too much of what the people say. The people of Litian City are all spreading rumors that the Jingnan Marquis is suffering retribution for his excessive killing, and that it has fallen on his wife and child.

They say that his wife had a nightmare while she was pregnant and wanted to go to the Tianhu Mountain Taoist temple to pray for the Marquis's blessing. Who would have thought that on her way back, the Daoist Ancestor would send down thunder and strike her dead.

And finally, they add a commentary that good is rewarded with good and evil is rewarded with evil."

Li Yinglian smiled and said:

"That's the story I've heard as well."

"Do you believe it?"

"Of course not. That old grand master in the palace once told us that he cultivated for a lifetime and never heard even a fart from the heavens.

So, all that stuff about good and evil being rewarded in the end, and heaven having eyes, is just ghostly nonsense to deceive people."

Wen Yin leaned back in his chair after hearing these words and said:

"You, ah, you, you've really been in the palace for too long, your brain is a bit messed up."

"What's wrong?"

"What heavenly lightning? That's obviously the most fake thing possible, and you're actually thinking about that."

"Then what should I be thinking about?"

"Think about what other identity the Jingnan Marquis's wife has, besides being the Marquis's woman!"

Li Yinglian's expression froze.

Wen Yin continued to put peanuts in his mouth while slowly saying:

"Over the years, I've been helping the Crown Prince recruit some martial artists in the shadows to do some equally shady things. More or less, I've also come into contact with people from the Secret Intelligence Division.

They probably see that we're on our master's side, and we've never done anything too outrageous, so they generally turn a blind eye.

But to tell you the truth, everyone says how omnipresent the Qian Kingdom's Silver Armored Guards are, but our Great Yan's Secret Intelligence Division is by no means ordinary either.

Just take that Marquis's wife, for example. If she wasn't pregnant, she would definitely have gone with the Jingnan Marquis on this expedition to the snowy plains.

A woman like that, do you think she would be disoriented and lose her mind because her husband was on a distant expedition, because she had a nightmare?

Then foolishly go to Tianhu Mountain to seek Taoist blessings and pray for safety?

Doesn't she know how many enemies the Jingnan Marquis has outside?

Not to mention anything else, just on this land of the Three Jin Dynasties, there are countless people who want to kill the Jingnan Marquis!"

Li Yinglian listened while sipping his wine in small sips.

"The key to this problem is why our Jingnan Marquis's wife would leave the heavily guarded Marquis's mansion to go to Tianhu Mountain."

Li Yinglian smacked his lips and subconsciously asked:

"Why?"

Unexpectedly, Wen Yin's next sentence directly scared Li Yinglian so much that the wine cup in his hand fell to the ground and shattered, and the burly man who was guarding the door immediately pushed open the door and rushed in upon hearing the sound.

"Get out, get out!"

Li Yinglian immediately pointed at the door and shouted sharply.

The burly man was stunned for a moment, bowed, and retreated from the room, closing the door again.

Li Yinglian caressed his chest with his left hand, not sitting on the chair, but squatting on the ground.

He raised his head,

glaring at the old man Wen Yin,

questioning him in a low and hoarse voice:

"How dare you, how dare you!"

Wen Yin continued to eat peanuts leisurely.

And the question he had asked earlier was still echoing in Li Yinglian's ears, each word piercing his eardrums:

"Gonggong Li, you were sent by the Crown Prince to celebrate the Jingnan Marquis's child, then, has His Majesty also sent someone?"